Odyssey’s SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure September 30, 2010

SHIPWRECK! Pirates &Treasure, an interactive, multi-media exhibition that allows visitors to experience the discovery and exploration of shipwrecks and sunken treasure, opens at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor October 1, 2010. The travelling exhibition will be on view until January 31, 2011.

Nearly 8,000 square feet, SHIPWRECK! showcases the tools and techniques of high-tech treasure exploration and hundreds of artifacts recovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration, the world leader in deep-ocean shipwreck research. The exhibition encourages visitors to discover the steps in shipwreck exploration and archaeology through the story of the SS Republic, a Civil War-era vessel that was lost during a hurricane in 1865, and has become one of the most famous shipwrecks in American history.

SHIPWRECK! enables visitors to experience the story of the Republic by standing under a full-size replica of one her paddlewheels, and examining hundreds of artifacts recovered from 1,700 feet below the surface. The artifacts include a variety of large pieces like the Walking Beam engine and small pieces, like coins, porcelain dishes and figurines, and personal items like combs and tooth brushes.

To relive the plight of the Republic and her ultimate sinking, exhibition visitors can feel the force of hurricane winds by standing in hurricane wind tunnels, and then take the helm of the Republic in front of a giant video screen and also test their recovery skills through a series of interactive games and challenges.

SHIPWRECK! introduces museum guests to the gadgets and equipment that led to the find of some of the world’s most famous deep-ocean discoveries including the Republic, the “Black Swan” site, the site believed to be HMS Sussex and Balchin’s HMS Victory. Guests will learn about the advanced technology Odyssey uses to retrieve and conserve of treasure. Visitors can examine a photomosiac of more than 2,500 tiny digital images that have been “stitched” together to create the large scale excavation map of the wreck site and examine a life-sized model of ZEUS, the eight-ton remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that makes deep seas archaeology possible. Visitors can also pilot the ROV on a simulator and navigate it through a virtual shipwreck site, and attempt to pick up objects by manipulating a working replica of ZEUS’s robotic arm.

SHIPWRECK! will enchant visitors with the “World of Pirates” interactive gallery and activities that immerse children and adults in the lore, legends, and facts of pirates of the Caribbean, Barbary Corsairs, Privateers and Buccaneers. Guests can learn how to identify pirate vessels on the horizon using spyglasses, raise the banners of notorious pirates, learn tie essential knots for life on the high seas, and create even their own pirate in an interactive game!

SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure will be on display in the Legg Mason Gallery on the second floor of the Maryland Science Center. For ticket information, please visit Maryland Science Center’s website at www.mdsci.org or call 410-685-2370. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Maryland Science Center. Group discounts and reservations are available.